Still All I Want for Christmas
by perfectromanceinmymind
Summary: Christmas with Sam & Mercedes, a little ways down the road.


**I've never written Glee before - but Samcedes are so stinkin' cute that I felt compelled to try something. Hope you like - please let me know!**

"All packed!" Mercedes Jones declared triumphantly as she dropped her suitcase by the front door and turned to grin at her boyfriend.

From where he was sprawled on the couch, Sam Evans raised an eyebrow as he looked up from the comic book he was reading. "Completely? Totally? You could walk out the door right this minute?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

Mercedes rolled her eyes and made a face. "Okay, I still have like, my contacts stuff and some makeup and whatever to toss in my other bag in the morning, but basically yes, I'm ready to leave," she retorted, swatting the back of his head as she walked past him.

Sam grabbed her hand and she let out a slight shriek as he tugged her towards him and she lost her balance and toppled onto his lap.

"Oops," he said cheerfully and without remorse as he leaned over to kiss her. Mercedes laughed in spite of herself.

"Are _you_ packed yet?" she asked as he shifted his position on the couch so she could curl up beside him.

Sam shrugged. "More or less."

"Just gotta get the bag of hair product together, right?" Mercedes teased, laughing again when he pretended to be offended. She leaned over and kissed him before resting her head on his shoulder and letting herself be hypnotized by the lights on their Christmas tree.

_Their_ tree. In _their_ house. (Apartment, but whatever.) Just thinking about that made her feel positively giddy. They'd done the long-distance thing all through college, him in Nashville, her in New York, both of them finally graduating the previous May. Sam had been the first to land a job, at a graphic design company in Nashville and so they'd spent the summer settling into the apartment and Mercedes had found work as a demo singer in the massive Nashville music industry. (Which she'd quickly learned encompassed a lot more than just country music.)

She still had dreams of stardom, but as she'd grown up, she'd realized she had other dreams too, that revolved around the man on the couch beside her and the knowledge that she could be happy pretty much anywhere, doing just about anything, as long as Sam was by her side.

And now it was their first Christmas in their home. They'd head to Sam's parents in Kentucky in the morning, to spend Christmas Eve and then on to Lima on Christmas morning for a late lunch with Mercedes' family and then serving dinner at the homeless shelter with any of the other Glee alumni who were home for Christmas. It had become a tradition and while they didn't all make it every year, they made it every year they were in Lima.

"You're quiet," Sam observed and Mercedes blinked, jarred out of her reverie.

She shrugged. "Just thinking. You know, I know we say it every year, but this? Best. Christmas. Ever."

Sam laughed. "Yeah? How so?"

Mercedes shot him a look that plainly said 'you really need me to explain this?' "Well," she began, "we're both finally college graduates. We're finally together, in the same city, in the same home." She paused before adding quietly, "Our home." She glanced over at him and smiled as he nodded agreement. "And," she continued, "We've both got amazing families and lifelong friends that we get to visit over the next few days. How is it not the best Christmas ever?"

Sam considered the question for a moment. "We—ell," he finally said slowly, "there's something else that might really make it the best."

"And that is?"

"To tell you, I'd have to give you a Christmas present early…"

Mercedes shook her head. "You know how I feel about that - not till at least Christmas Eve!"

Sam grinned. "Yeah, I know. But – we're gonna be with my family tomorrow and yours the next day and well – if I'm gonna ask you to marry me, I'd kinda like to do it in private."

Mercedes blinked. "If you who gonna what?"

Sam laughed. "Hold that thought," he replied as he jumped up and grabbed something out of the inner pocket of his coat.

Like she was going anywhere was the thought that Mercedes managed to process. Was he seriously – her brain cut off as Sam came back around the couch and knelt in front of her.

"Oh my God," she sputtered, realizing suddenly that she was laughing and crying at the same time. "You're really doing the down on one knee thing?"

Sam grinned at her. "Of course I am," he said matter-of-factly, his tone belying the sudden rush of nerves he was suffering. The words sounded so clichéd in his head, but he took a deep breath and asked them anyway.

"Mercedes Jones – will you marry me?"

Mercedes nodded, the smile on her face so big she thought her cheeks might split. "Yes, yes, YES!" she said, placing her hands on either side of his face as she kissed him. "Now get up off the floor, you fool."

Sam laughed and let her pull him back up onto the couch before he reached for her left hand and slid the ring on her finger.

Mercedes held her hand out, admiring the sparkle.

"I hope you like it," Sam started to say, sounding a bit nervous.

"It's perfect," Mercedes interrupted, grinning at him. "You're perfect. I love it – I love you –" she cut herself off as she leaned over to kiss him again, letting herself get lost in the embrace for a few moments.

"You know," Sam said after they broke apart, "this finally changes my favorite Christmas memory of you."

"Oh? What was the old one?"

"The second Christmas in Glee club – right after I came back to McKinley and we were decorating the choir room. You sang that old Mariah song and you looked – gorgeous and well, not to be cheesy, but the song was right. All I wanted for Christmas was you. It's still all I want."

Mercedes smiled. This man and his ability to turn her insides to mush! "So that's not your favorite anymore?"

"Nah," Sam said, grinning. "Now my favorite will be you in your pajamas, glasses, hair all messy –" Mercedes mock-glared at him and he hastily finished up, "And you've just agreed to be my wife." He couldn't help the dopey quality his grin took on as he said the word 'wife.' "To be Mrs. Sam Evans."

"Mrs. Evans," Mercedes echoed, her own grin just as dopey looking. "I really like the sound of that."

"So – now I totally agree with you. Best. Christmas. Ever."


End file.
